Melanie Porter

After 10 years working as a knitwear designer for a number of international fashion brands, Melanie turned her expertise to furniture, creating one-off contemporary designs from chairs sourced from auctions and markets across the UK.

Each project starts with the chair itself – anything from an antique Victorian nursing chair, to a 1970s Egg chair – which is painstakingly stripped back to the frame, before being restored and reupholstered using traditional techniques. This blank canvas is then covered with a series of hand-knitted panels, especially created for each chair.

Melanie undertakes the entire process herself and everything, from the restoration and upholstering to the individual, crocheted buttons, is done by hand. The result of this incredibly labour-intensive process is a stunning and unique work of art, destined to be a future family heirloom.